Hardwood

Failed Experiments

What makes the NBA so great and so unique are the risks teams, front office executives, and league officials are willing to take. Moving the Seattle Supersonics to Oklahoma City was a huge risk that ultimately paid off. Broadening the game to reach the international market was another risk that has paid off.

The NBA, the greatest league in North American sports, couldn't get to where it is without a few blunders. Sometimes teams are too risky, or the NBA tries too hard be innovative and it fails miserably. Here's a look back at the NBA's failed experiment throughout the years.

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Experiment 1.) The Brooklyn Nets win now approach

This one is pretty infamous. The Brooklyn Nets made arguably the dumbest trade in NBA history. To satisfy the needs of owner Mikhail Prokhorov and Brooklyn fans, then-GM Billy King made a move that has haunted the franchise ever since.

Did it seem like a good trade at the time? Of course it did. This Brooklyn Nets team now featured two competent(but past their prime) legends in Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, plus Jason Terry, one of the greatest shooters in league history. You add that on to the All-star trio of Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, and Brook Lopez and you have a formidable team out East capable of at least challenging the Big 3 Miami Heat.

Well the hopes of that dwindled as soon as the season began. The team got off to a 5-12 start. It also didn't help that Brook Lopez got hurt early on in the year. Those injuries lingered and it eventually led to him being shot down for the rest of the season, leaving the Nets to start the rookie, Mason Plumlee. Things began to turn around for the Nets as the New Year came around. The Nets went 10-3 in January and 7-5 in February to bring their record to 27-29. In danger of missing the playoffs, Brooklyn would go on a hot streak winning, 17 of their last 26 games. They squeaked into the playoffs as a sixth seed with a record of 44-38.

In the halfway decent Eastern Conference, the Nets were expected to compete for a top three seed. Instead, they found themselves playing the young Toronto Raptors on the road in the opening round.

Against the Raptors, they were able to use their superior playoff experience to "upset" Toronto in 7. Joe Johnson had a big series, averaging 22pts on 52% shooting. Pierce didn't have a big have during the series but can't away with the biggest play of the playoffs when he blocked Kyle Lowry's game tying layup in game 7. The aging Kevin Garnett and was a no show and lastly, the Nets youth were just too young to contribute consistently. Nonetheless, they were moving on to face the defending champion Miami Heat.

Like all teams in the league, Brooklyn had no answer for Lebron James. The Nets did manage to take game three. A game in which the media blasted James for "choking." He promptly responded with a 49 point outing. The Heat put Brooklyn out of its misery in game five, ending their longest playoff run since 2007.

Here's why this was one of the worst experiments ever. Paul Pierce ended up leaving the team in 2014. Garnett played two mediocre seasons and WORST of all, the Nets did not own their own first round draft until 2019. The picks they gave up turned into James Young, Jaylen Brown, and Jayson Tatum. Boston has become an Eastern Conference contender while Brooklyn is mired in the rebuilding stage. It just goes to show, good front office management can go a long way.

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Experiment 2.) The Phoenix Suns three guard rotation

No front office can top the idiocy of the Billy King Brooklyn Nets. However, the Phoenix Suns front office managed to give the Nets a run for the money. After a surprising 48 win season in 2014, the Suns made a splash in free agency by signing Isaiah Thomas to a 3yr/27mil dollar deal. Isaiah was coming off a career year with the Kings as he averaged 20pts and 6ast on 45% shooting. This would have been a great pickup for most teams, except the Suns already featured two starting caliber point guards in Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic. This put, head coach, Jeff Hornacek in quite the conundrum.

Goran Dragic was fresh off the best season of his career. He was named the league's Most Improved Player and was named 3rd team All-NBA. Eric Bledsoe appeared in only 43 games, but still had a career year as well. So you had three point guards coming off the best seasons of their respective careers joining forces after a 48 win season. What could go wrong?

Just about everything went wrong. After starting 54 of Sacramento's 72 games last season, Isaiah would only start in one game for the Suns. Somebody had to come off the bench and IT was the odd man out. His production and efficiency dropped across the boards. His frustration grew, but he wasn't the only one. Starting point guard, Goran Dragic was also seeing his numbers decline. His points and assists dropped to 16 and 4 respectively. The only player who didn't see a decrease was Eric Bledsoe. Bledsoe, who missed of last season, was the youngest of the trio. His numbers remained virtually the same as Phoenix played him on ball most frequently.

The Suns were expected to be competing for a playoff spot. After going 48-34 the previous season, the Suns got off to very slow start. Adjusting to three ball dominant point guards is extremely tough. Not only did they struggle, the tension forced Phoenix's hand.

The logical thing was to trade someone. Phoenix dished out a 5yr/70mil dollar contact extension to Eric Bledsoe before the season, so he was virtually untouchable. Dragic was coming off a 3rd team All-NBA selection last season, but he was in final year of his contract. He was the best shooter of the trio and was the only one capable of playing off the ball. But he grew more frustrated than the other two, and eventually demanded a trade. So Phoenix granted him his wish.

This would be the first of three 3-team trades on the same day! Yes Phoenix made three trades at the deadline and all involved three teams. All together Phoenix would trade away both Goran Dragic and Isaiah Thomas. In return they got only one rotation player in Brandon Knight. It's hard to top the Nets trade but Phoenix might have done it. Three separate trades, on the same day, and all Phoenix got was an excuse to start tanking sooner.

Fast forward to the 2018 season and Phoenix is one of the least respectable franchises in the league. To make matters worse, the point guard they choose over IT and Dragic is now gone too. Eric Bledsoe was fed up with the front office's poor management skills. Now Bledsoe is a Milwaukee Buck and Phoenix is without a starting caliber point guard. Congratulations Phoenix, you played yourself.

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Experiment 3.) Reaching for college superstars

Before the NBA had an affinity for one and don't freshman, superstar college players were the way to go. There absolutely nothing wrong with staying in college for 3 or 4 years if you're an NBA prospect. You do run the risk of getting injured rather than getting paid millions of dollars. But the more college basketball, the more NBA-ready a prospect is. That was the prevailing opinion for quite a bit of time, until a pattern started to unfold. Suddenly these great college players did not experience the same success in the league.

Let's take it back to the 90s. The 90s featured so many great college players taken in the early lottery. From players like Ed O'Bannon to Mateen Cleaves to Trajan Langdon. If you've never heard of those names I won't blame you.

Mateen Cleaves

Cleaves was a 3 time AP All-American during his four years at Michigan State. He captained the 1999 NCAA champion Spartans and was drafted 14th overall by the Detroit Pistons. Heiling from Flint, Michigan and playing for the Pistons was like a dream come true. Except Cleaves never amounted to anything resembling a successful NBA career. His rookie year he played in 78 total games. For the remainder of his career, he never played in more than 32 games in a season.

Ed O'Bannon

Ed O'Bannon was a 3-time Pac-10 1st team selection and even led the UCLA Bruins to a national championship in 1995. However his NBA career was far less glamorous than his collegiate career. He played only three years in the NBA, before being released in 1997. Mind you O'Bannon was taken with the 9th pick in '95 draft, ahead of players like Theo Ratliff and Michael Finley.

Trajan Langdon

Trajan Langdon, the Duke product, drafted 6th overall in 1999 after a very successful college career. One that saw him earn All-American honors twice and 1st team All-ACC three years in a row. Despite that, he failed to make an impact in the NBA. He spent three years with Cavs before being waived in 2002.

90's front offices weren't the only ones to fall for the trap. The 2000s and even 2010s have had its fair share of college superstar blunders. From Adam Morrison and Jimmer Fredette, to even a sure thing in Michigan's Trey Burke.

When evaluating the Naismith Players of the Year since 1997, there have been more than a few "busts." Time will tell for Buddy Hield and Frank Mason, but guys like Evan Turner, Trey Burke, Adam Morrison, Jimmer Fredette, and Tyler Hansbrough have had underwhelming NBA careers.

It's hard to tell if college success will translate into NBA success. Front office executives and general managers broke the trend of drafting the four year player in the late 2000s. Since then, the number one pick in the draft dating back to 2010 has always been a one and done freshman. With the exception of Anthony Bennett, that decision has seemed to pay off. The freshman have more potential and are generally more talented. Sure you will still have your Trajan Langdon's and Mateen Cleaves every once in a while, but the days of drafting four year college superstars in the lottery are over.

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Experiment 4.) Introducing the new synthetic basketball

In an effort to be more innovative, the NBA decided to introduce a new basketball in 2006. The new synthetic ball was said to be the "best in the world," according to commissioner David Stern. All that good talk seemed fine, at least for a while, until the players began complaining about the ball. And it wasn't just your average NBA players, it was some of the best players in the league speaking up.

"It feels like one of those cheap balls you buy at the toy store."

- Shaquille O'Neal

"The ball just tears my fingers apart."

- Steve Nash

"I have to constantly put lotion all over my hands because my fingers are cracking and it's causing splits on my fingertips."

- Ray Allen

The funny thing was that the ball had been used during the previous two All-star weekends. Recently retired NBA players like Mark Jackson and Reggie Miller tested the basketballs, but the players were never given a notice about it.

Scoring and efficiency actually increased during the two months the ball was in use. If you're a numbers guy then, you're wondering what's the problem. The problem was that the ball was more unpredictable than the old one. According to studies conducted by UTA physics professor Kaushik De, "the new ball bounced 30 percent more erratically," compared to the old leather ball.

Eventually the players got their wish and the NBA switched back to the leather ball. The synthetic basketball lasted for only 3 months. Til' this day it remains one of the worst decisions of David Stern's tenure as commissioner. I think Lebron put it best when regarding the new basketball.

"The only thing we love the most is the basketball. That's your comfort... Without your basketball, it doesn't work. That was my biggest problem, was, why would you change something that means so much to us?"(ESPN)

- Lebron James

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Experiment 5.) College coaches testing the NBA waters

The transition from college to the pros isn't easy for players, but it is also difficult for coaches too. Sure Brad Stevens is making it look really easy right now, but he's an outlier. Billy Donovan's seat was red hot before OKC found its groove. Fred Hoiberg has found very little success in his first few seasons in Chicago. Why do college coaches seem to struggle at the NBA level?

John Calipari

John Calipari, the legendary Kentucky men's basketball coach once tried his hand in the NBA. Needless to say, it was a disaster from the start. Calipari made the jump to the professional ranks after eight years at UMass. At UMass he won 5 straight A10 regular season and postseason titles, including a Final Four appearance in 1996. The Nets came calling shortly after and like any young coach, he took the opportunity.

Calipari went 26-56 in his first season at the helm. The next season saw him win 43 games and lead the Nets to the eighth seed and a first round matchup with the top seed, Chicago Bulls. Jordan and the Bulls promptly swept the Nets, 3-0. New Jersey was highly regarded amongst analysts, but the '99 season was a disappointment. They got off to a 3-17 start, so management showed him the door. He finished his NBA head coaching career 72 -112. He returned to NCAA where he has established himself as a Hall of Famer.

Rick Pitino

Former Louisville head coach Rick Pitino tried his luck in the NBA, twice. His first stint in the big leagues came in 1987 where he coached the NY Knicks led by Patrick Ewing. He actually fared pretty well, leading the Knicks to back to back playoff appearances in 1988 and 1989. In '89 he coached the Knicks to a 52 win and their first division title in 20 years. But he went back to college basketball after the season.

Pitino would make his return to the NBA in 1997 with the Boston Celtics. His second go around was disastrous at best. The late 90s, early 2000s Boston Celtics were a black mark for the historic franchise. Boston missed the playoffs every year Pitino coached. Celtics fans, of course, were not particularly happy with all the losing. After starting the 2001 season 12-22, Pitino would resign, compiling a record of 102-146 as the Celtics coach. He never returned to the NBA, but he did cement his legacy as one of the greatest college coaches of all time. That is until he became caught up in a recruiting scandal just last year and was fired from Louisville.

The list goes on and on. From newer coaches like Mike Dunlap overseeing the 2013 Charlotte Bobcats(21-61 record), to current Florida State head coach, Leonard Hamilton, coaching the Wizards for only one season. Why do college coaches have such a bad track record in the NBA?

Perhaps it is because an NBA coach doesn't have the same control as they would in college. Coaches at the college level can give or take scholarships away while in the NBA, contracts are guaranteed. Another factor is that you're dealing with grown men, not young adults. I'm sure it's extremely for coaches to massage the egos of NBA players. That's their livelihood, that's the way they feed their families. So to go from managing kids to grown men is no easy task.

Despite that, it's pretty eye opening to see the legendary college coaches who didn't cut it in the NBA. Jerry Tarkanian, former head coach of UNLV, lasted only 20 games with San Antonio Spurs in 1992. Mike Montgomery coached the Golden State Warriors from 2004 to 2006. During that span he led then to two straight 34 win seasons. Mind you, Montgomery was no slouch. He had already won over 500 games at Montana and Stanford. He would retire from college basketball with 676 wins(22nd all time in men's D1).

There have been some success stories. Guys like Brad Stevens and Larry Brown have proved it's possible to succeed at both levels. Billy Donovan has redeemed himself from his embarrassing stint as the head coach of the Orlando Magic. However as I mentioned before, those are outliers. The jump from college to the pros has not been a welcoming road coaches.